Valentina Matviyenko, the Head of the Federation Council claimed that the law was worked out after the criticism by the Council for Human Rights and only after that it was adopted. Earlier the law was approved at all three readings by the State Duma on November 15.

Also, the Ministry of Justice sent the warning letters to the departments of the Radio Liberty in Russia right after the adoption of the law. However, the restrictions that can be imposed on the news agency are not specified.

As we reported earlier the list of the foreign agents include the ‘Voice of America’, ‘Radio Liberty’, CNN, Deutsche Welle.

‘The mass media registered in the territory of another state or receiving money or other funds from the foreign establishments can be recognized as the foreign agents regardless their legal organization form’, Tolstoy said.

Moreover, it is provided to implement the duty of such mass media to mark their belonging to this category.

Also, he claimed that the draft law on the mass media as the foreign agents does not provide the automatic award of the status of the foreign agent to all foreign mass media. However, if mass media which falls under this status refuses to register it will be banned from the work in Russia.